On the quantitative complement in oracle-bone inscriptions
论甲骨文中的量词补语
Ken-ichi Takashima 高岛谦一

Abstract 摘要
Numerals and expressions of quantity can function as predicate in both oracle-bone inscriptions and Classical Chinese. This paper analyzes the use of numerals as employed in the pattern Verb + Noun1 + Noun2 + Numeral, where Noun1 stands for the indirect object and Noun2 the direct object of the verb. An example of this pattern is 来甲午侑伐上甲十 (on coming jiawu day/ (we) should offer/Shang Jia/beheaded-human-victims/ten). Three different interpretations concerning the use of the numeral “ten” are posited: (i) it functions as a main verb, meaning “make (the number) be ten”; (ii) it functions as a predicate, but it is only an elliptical expression of the hypothetically full clause *侑十伐上甲. The sentence as a whole should be represented on the underlying level as *来甲午侑伐上甲, 侑十伐上甲, from which the underlined portions are deleted. Interpreted thus, the sentence may be understood as “*When/if on coming jiawu day (we) offer beheaded-human-victims to Shang Jia, (we) should offer ten (of the aforementioned) beheaded-human-victims (to) Shang Jia”; (iii) it functions as a quantitative complement to the verb, embodying a syntactic type in which two pieces of new information, the direct object and its number, are incorporated into a single sentence. The sentence may be understood as “On coming jiawu day (we) should offer Shang Jia beheaded-human-victims (numbering/amounting to) ten.” The paper discusses the problem of deletion in the oracle-bone language, paying particular attention to the criterion of new vs. old/shared information which led to the deletion. It argues, in effect, that the numeral “ten” is the necessary residue of the underlying form *伐十伐 and that the optimum choice among the three interpretations is (iii).

在甲骨文跟古汉语里，数词和量词可做为动词。本文分析数词在动＋名1＋名2＋数句型里的用法。在这个句型中，第一个名词代表间接宾语，第二个名词代表直接宾语。例如，来甲午侑伐上甲十（次甲午日/（我们）要侑（献）/人牲/（给）上甲/ 十）。关于数词 ‘十’的用法，我们假设有三种不同的解释：(i) 它可用做主动词，意即‘使成十人’；(ii) 它可用做述语，但只作为假设完成句的省略表现，即*侑十伐上甲。全句应以‘来甲午侑伐上甲，侑十伐上甲’的深层结构来表示，而省掉深层结构中画线的部分。如此解释，则此句可解作 ‘*在次甲午日时/如果在次甲午日（我们）要有侑献人牲给上甲，要献（上面所说的）十个人牲给上甲’ (iii) 它可用作动词的量词补语，表现一种具有两个新信讯的句型，即直接宾语和其量词，亦即此新信讯已包括在一个单一的句子里。第一段所举的句子亦可解作‘次甲午日（我们）要侑献人牲给上甲，（人牲之数合计为）十’。本文讨论甲骨文中一般的省略问题，尤其注意到量词补语。结论支持量词 ‘十’是深层结构 ‘*伐十伐’ 中的必要剩余要素。以上三种解释中，(iii) 算是最佳选择。

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